Harp-stop for upright pianos



(No Model.)

J. HARDMAN 86 W. H. DUTTON.

HARP STOP FOR UPRIGHT PIANOS.

No. 339,170. Patented Apr. 6, 1886.

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WITNESSES:

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN HARDMAN, OF NE\V YORK, X. Y., AND \VILLIAM H. BUTTON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

HARP-STOP FOR UPRIGHT PIANOS.

QPBCLE'IGATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 339,170, dated April 6, 1886.

Application filed May 28, 15 85.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, the undersigned, JOHN HARDMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at 215 \Vest Fifty-Fourth street, city, county, and State of New York, and \VILLIAM H. DUTTON, a citizen of the United States, re siding at No. 1115 Chestnut street, Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, jointly have invented certain new and useful Harp Stops for Upright Piano- Fortes of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Our improvement, which we wish to designate as the harp-stop, relates to a novel use or employment of the soft-pedal element of upright piano-fortes, and includes the necessary apparatus and method for actuating the same.

Our invention embodies and has objectively several important and distinct benefits to the instrument, because with this improvement, the fingering or touch being unavoidably light and the strength of the tones subdued, the truth and distinctness of the notes are not impaired. Fhis feature will obviate or greatly modify the annoyances from piano-forte prac tice, especially by students. The piano, furthermore, will remain much longer in tune, thereby avoiding a great part of that attendant expense, besides prolonging the durability of the instrument itself.

Our improvement consists in so raising the soft-pedal rail of the piano by a hand-lever movement that all the hammers are simultaneously advanced toward and held at will in uniform position near the strings, so that short and light blows only can be given, and when released again will by specific gravity fallback to their proper position of rest, our improvements embracing, also, the attachments and apparatus for effecting the results set forth, while at the same time we do not change nor in any way interfere with the soft-pedal action or its attachments, which are retained as auX- iliaries to our improvement. (See drawings.)

Figure I shows a front view of the upper part of a piano with the front broken away, showing our improvement in elevation. Figs. II and III represent the inside elevation of the lefthand end of an upright pianoforte Serial No. 166,983. (No model.)

with the peculiar contrivances for actuating ourimprovement as arranged with Hardmans combined action bracket a, the soft pedal and hammers being shown in their normal positions of rest at Fig. II and raised to a fixed position for the short-stroke soft-pedal action against the wires at Fig. III. Figs. IV, V, and VI are enlarged views of certain parts. b shows the hammer-rest rail, to the left-hand end of which we secureahorizontal plate perforated by an elongated slot, as at 0. Fig. V shows plan and end views of a steadying or re-enforce bar, (I, of metal, secured by slotted adjusting angle-plates e to the tops of the outer arms of the bracket a. They give firmness to and preserve the damper-rail in line against warping, twisting, &c., so that when the rail is lowered its back side cushion takes against the bar and there rests, as shown in enlarged figure, VI.

In the last-named figure, VI, the hammer is represented in two positions, that on the left (see dotted lines) being in its normal state of rest, and that on the right in the position as raised and held for the harp-stop action near to the strings g.

In our operating deviceJi shows the damperrod of the instrument, connected, as usual, at itslower end with thelever of the foot pedal, (not shown but in this case the rod is provided with a stopcap, a", (see Fig. IV, end view,) to the center of which a strong vertical pin is secured,which pin, passing through the slot in the plate 0, will as the rod h is moved up or down, cause the damper-rail I), and consequently the hammers, to rock forward or backward to the position desired. As an alternate the plate 0 may be simply perforated to fit the pin, and the orifices below through. the instrument may be elongated to admit the rod itself to rock back and forth; but the preferred plan is that described.

The. rod h, with our improvement, is almost exclusively actuated by hand by the following described method: In the operating devices, t represents a metal or plate sliding in battens, as shown, its upper end being turned horizontally, Figs. I, II, III, and IV, where the plate is widened and perforated or forked to receive and actuate the damper-rod h by the 100 collar m, secured to the rod above the top of the plate 1', to hold the rod when lifted by the plate. Near the lower end of this actuatingplate i the strong pins are made fast to receive between them the operating-arm of a rocking lever-plate, n, which oscillates upon a fixed pin, as shown, the plate a being actuated by the left hand through the medium of the handle of a curved crank-plate,'p, the motions of which are limited by stop-pins 0 0, to limit the movement of the crank in either direction when raising or depressing the lever-plate and its attachments.

In addition to the described mechanism for our harp-stop, we attach proper directions for actuating the same, placed upon or near the end of the key-board or upon the end block, but near to the actuating-crank p, for which we prefer an ornamental metal plate with stamped raised letters and the words "Harp Stop and figure of a harp raised thereon. It will be readily seen that by this device the hand must control the whole range of hammers, raising them all simultaneously to the line nearest the strings consistent with their action from the slightest touch, yet without at all interfering with the free action of the usual soft pedal when it is in use, as by the touch of the left hand upon the lever-crank the keys are again released and with the damper-bar b drop back to the bar d at rest. This system insures the least possible percussion upon the strings,

What we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an upright piano-forte, the device for actuating the soft-pedal bar, consisting of the hand-crankp, rock-plate n, sliding rod or plate i, and lifting-rod h, constructed, arranged, and actuated in the manner substantially as described.

2. In an upright piano-forte, the oscillating soft-pedal bar b, the forked plate i, lifting'rod h, and a lifting device,'as p n,connected to saidforked plate, whereby the soft-pedal bar may be operated either by hand-crank or the ordinary pedal, substantially as described.

3. In an upright piano-forte, the following elements in combination: the hand crank locking device p, lever n, the forked plate i, the lifting-rod h, having collar m, the re-enforce bar 01, having plates 0. support for said re-enforce bar, and the soft-pedal b'ar b, having plates 0, all constructed, arranged, and operating as shown and described.

4. In an upright piano-forte, the following elements in combination: the oscillating softpedal bar b, perforated plate a, re-ent'orce bar 01, damper lifting-rod h, actuating-lever n, and vertical plate or rod 5, all arranged and operated as and for the uses described.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures in presence of two witnesses each.

JOHN HARDMAN. WILLIAM H. DUTTON.

Witnesses to J. Hardmans signature:

G. J. MOULTON, J. B. HYDE.

Witnesses to W. H. Duttons signature:

SAM M. CLEMENT, J. B. HYDE. 

